You are here

Home » Official Memorial Service of the late National Poet Laureate, Prof. Kgositsile to be held at the Johannesburg City Hall

Official Memorial Service of the late National Poet Laureate, Prof. Kgositsile to be held at the Johannesburg City Hall

10 Jan 2018

Members of the media are invited to attend the Official Memorial Service of the internationally renowned liberation struggle stalwart and South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse “Bra Willie” Kgositsile, who passed away on Wednesday, 3 January, after a short illness. The Official Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, 11 January 2018 at the Johannesburg City Hall in Gauteng.

Kgositsile was an internationalist of note and his passing has reverberated across the globe. In the 79 years of his life, Kgositsile touched the lives of many through his poetry and political activism.

In his three decades of exile, Kgositsile continued to fight injustices through his poetry, teachings and publications. He lived in several countries including the US, Botswana, Tanzania and Kenya. Upon his return to South Africa following the jettisoning of the apartheid regime in 1994, Kgositsile worked with several academic and government institutions. In his lifetime, he mentored a countless number of cultural practitioners, academics and political activists.

The late Liberation struggle stalwart will be laid to rest on Tuesday, 16 January 2018 at West Park Cemetery.